Tainted Hearts
by Silver Twilight Kitsune
Summary: A new breed of Heartless is formed, the Parasite Heartless. They sink themselves into a person's heart, causing the victim to eventually become a Heartless themself. How, then, can you tell if a person is really your friend...or a heartless foe? Mainly OC
1. The Cat, the Rabbit, and the Foxes

Introduction, Info, Notes, etc: 

See my profile page for sentence-long-ish chapter summaries..If you care. --

This story was created by Akane and I. (It was made equally by two people.)

This is a LONG story! It will span over several chapters, eventually..So don't expect to get through reading it too quickly. Skimming through it might be fun if you're not patient enough to thoroughly read it…

Even if you don't know much about Kingdom Hearts, you may be able to understand it anyway..Execpt maybe in the later chapters.

IMPORTANT! The main characters are made-ups, not originals! Originals do make a few appearances, mainly in the later chapters, though.

And lastly…Leave a review. Please. I'm not being desperate, we just like them. Even if you don't read the whole thing, or you just skim through, leave your impression of it. Even if you barely have anything to say, just say a single word for all I care. Okayy?

If you want to have more of a general idea of what the story's like, well, I guess it's sort of like .hack, Inuyasha, and maybe Naruto…? It has a few mystery-ish themes to it, and not that much action. -.- We need to have more action! XD

Now on with the story…!

**1 – The Cat, the Rabbit, and the Foxes**

A girl of the age of fourteen was walking through her hometown, Traverse Town, carrying her staff. She had red hair that went to her shoulders, and she had cat ears and a tail, but they looked strangely like a Heartless'. The clothes she wore were a variety of gothic lolita styles, and she also had a locket that wouldn't open. Her name was **Akane**, and with her was **Aiko**, a female, pure white rabbit that accompanied her where ever she went. Akane grew up in Traverse Town as a normal citizen, but one day she came across a dying Heartless; She didn't know it was evil at the time. So she took care of it, and hid it when her parents told her to leave it alone. But, they didn't tell her why. When the Heartless regained its complete power, it attacked her. But with a mysterious magical reaction, the Heartless was absorbed into Akane. Now she can't remember anything of her past, and she is mutated with a Heartless. Because of this, her only friend is her pet rabbit... She is usually quiet, and talks to Aiko instead of other people when confronted. She also tries not to run into fights.

Akane walked through an unknown district with Aiko hopping behind. Wondering where she was, she turned to Aiko, and saw a Heartless instead, then discovered even more around her. She looked around but no trace of Aiko, and panicking, she used Thunder.

Also wandering through this mysterious Unknown District was a fifteen-year-old girl with purple eyes, and long black hair. She was **Kitsuko**, a half-demon fox, with fox ears and a fox tail. She wore black boots, long dark-blue pants, a black jacket, and a dark purple shirt. Her belt was black and dotted with silver stars. She also wore a chain necklace holding a pendant in the shape of a dragon head.

Kitsuko's partner was **Kieon**, a small Eevee who possessed a necklace bearing a softly glowing stone. An Eevee is a Pokemon. It is called the "evolution" Pokemon, and it stands about one foot high, and has brown fur. It looks like a fox.

Kieon was sitting atop Kitsuko's head as the swarm of Heartless caught their attention. Suddenly, Kitsuko noticed a rabbit hopping next to her.

Akane used Thunder a few times until the Heartless had vanished. She went the opposite direction she had been going before, confident that Aiko had run that way to avoid the Heartless. Kitsuko saw the girl running away, and then looked at the rabbit now sitting next to her. "Hmm…" Kieon's ear twitches as she says, "Huh?" Kitsuko picks up the rabbit and runs after the girl.

Akane heard footsteps behind her, and not wanting to take any chances with more Heartless, ran faster. Not being a very loud person, Kitsuko didn't want to yell out to Akane. So she stopped and shot a stream of fox-fire near her, hoping that would make her stop. (Fox-fire, or kitsune-bi, is blue.) Akane jumped out of the way of the fox-fire, and looked back at where it came form.

"What in the --" she started but, saw Aiko and stopped right there. "You didn't have to shoot fire at me.." she said, still a little spooked form the fire. "But thanks for bringing Aiko to me!" Akane said. Kitsuko looked at her hand, which had shot out the fire, and put it behind her back in slight embarrassment. "Uh, sorry about that. You should be more careful. This little guy wouldn't last a minute out here with all the Heartless around." Kieon closed her eyes and smiled at Akane. "Heh, unlike Kieon here," Kitsuko added.

"What are you talking about?" Aiko asked, jumping from Kitsuko to Akane, who caught Aiko. "I'm the one who taught Akane magic in the first place," Aiko continued. Akane was silent, and there was a sweatdrop on her forehead. Kitsuko took a tiny step back, surprised. "Oh...So it can talk, too..." Kitsuko and Kieon looked at each other. A sweat drop appeared on Kitsuko's face as well as she said, "Kieon can talk too." She fell silent for a moment, then said to Akane, "Well, see you."

Kitsuko turned and started to walk away, but paused and looked back at Akane. "Um...Have you seen anyone dressed in black with a hood?"

"We haven't," Aiko said before Akane had a chance. "Nope," Akane agreed. "But, if I do see anyone like that, I'll be sure to let you know," Akane said, before Aiko could say anything this time.

Kitsuko closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. "Oh. Alright." She continued to walk away, but Kieon abruptly muttered, "What are you doing? She could help us find him! Follow her!" Kitsuko thought about it for a moment. She didn't like company, but she trusted Kieon.

Kitsuko called out to Akane. "Hey...Do you want to help me with something? I'm trying to find the guy who--- well, uh, just some guy."

"Sure, the guy with the hood right?" Akane asked, putting Aiko back on the ground.

"Yeah. I've looked all around Traverse Town, but he's not here. I think he's in Twilight Town. The problem is that I don't know how to get there. The way I got here was that the Keyblade Master and his friends gave me a ride on their Gummi Ship, and I've been staying here for a while. But, that was a while ago, and I haven't heard from them since…Now I don't have a way to go to other worlds…" Kitsuko explains to Akane. Kieon sighs.

"Oh. I see. I haven't been to any other worlds besides Traverse Town," Akane explained, "or at least any that I know of." She added, "By the way, what is a Gummi Ship?" Akane asked. Akane wasn't sure of what most of the things Kitsuko was talking about. She had long known there were different worlds…But this twilight world...Wasn't something she familiarized with at all.

Kitsuko stood there for a moment, thinking. "Hm, I don't know what to do. You don't understand most of what I'm saying, do you? A Gummi Ship is something used to travel between worlds. And Twilight Town is where I'm from, at least, I think so. I'm not sure about a lot of things. That's why I have to find this person...even though I don't know who he is." She winces. "I just...I don't know what to do!"

"Well if you think that if you find this person, he will give you some answers, then finding him is worth it. And if that's where you think you're from, then going there at all would give you answers too…Right?" Akane said.

"I'm not so sure. But, I suppose you are right. I'll just focus on finding him. Now, we need to find a ride." Kitsuko looks around at the unknown district. "Um, do you know how to get to the first district from here?"

"No, actually I got lost in here." Akane said. "I don't know how to get there from here either," Aiko agreed.

Kitsuko's ears perk up as she hears something. "Well, we'd better go somewhere fast--- Look out!" Heartless begin to appear in a circle, surrounding them. Among the Heartless are the powerful NeoShadows. Kitsuko glares at them. "Those Heartless...I remember seeing a bunch of them in Twilight Town..."

"Oh no," Akane said as she used Thunder to destroy enough to break the circle. "Go that way," Akane said pointing at the break, continuing to use different spells against the Heartless, while getting out of the circle. Kitsuko uses a blue thunder attack on the Heartless, and rushes after Akane. She looks around hastily, and points at a nearby door. "Let's try going this way!"

"Okay good idea," Akane said, as she finished off a few Heartless around her, then started heading for the door, just noticing that Aiko was on her head.

Kitsuko stops for a moment to look around. "This is the second district...I think...Huh?" She notices Squall standing near the alley. Nervously, she rushes back the other way into the unknown district. "Uh, hey, wrong way!" she yelled to Akane. Akane stopped and started running back into the unknown district. "Wait a minute!" Akane called after Kitsuko. "We can just go to the first district, through the second district, right!-- Wait!" Akane said, struggling to catch up with Kitsuko, and not wanting to use her wings. Kitsuko stopped, still shaky from seeing the person whom she despised. "You're right. Fine, let's go that way, but hurry!" Kieon was still quietly clinging to Kitsuko's shoulder.

Akane ran back, through the door and into the second district, yet again. Her wings appeared on her back, and she flew, not very far from the ground, in the direction of the first district door. "Sorry , but my legs are starting to get tired.." Akane called to Kitsuko. She had never been that good of a runner, she knew that, even though she didn't remember.. Kitsuko glanced at Akane while running and grinned. "No problem." Glowing, blue, almost dragon-like, wings appeared on Kitsuko's back and she took flight as well. "We should've tried this in the first place!" A sweatdrop appeared on Kieon's head.

_end of chapter one – the cat, the rabbit, and the foxes_


	2. Consequences of Solving a Mystery

**2 – Consequences of Solving a Mystery**

Several Heartless were quickly flying and dashing across buildings while chasing the cat, the rabbit, and the two foxes. 

Kitsuko was flying above the town, her dark blue wings glowing like the moon, convinced that they had already escaped the Heartless. Akane flew above her pursuers, her midnight black wings almost making her unseeable to all above. She was also convinced the heartless couldn't catch her as she swooped high over the ground.

Kitsuko called out to Akane, "The first district is over there!". Suddenly she looked behind her, and a group of three Wyvern heartless were catching up to them. "Okay," Akane yelled back, noticing the Wyverns as Kitsuko did. "Let's fly faster so they can't catch up to us," Akane suggested. "Yeah," said Kitsuko, although she couldn't fly as fast as Akane.

They reached the first district, Kitsuko landed on the ground, and pointed to the Accessory Shop. "Let's hide in here!"

"Okay," Akane said, as she started to run to the shop, Aiko still on her head.

The Accessory Shop was empty except for the regular shopkeeper, who looked quite bored.

Kitsuko gazed at the fire, thinking. "Hey, I heard of a guy around here who builds Gummi Ships. We should try to find him." Kieon was still clinging to her shoulder. Aiko hopped off Akane's head, and took a nap on the floor…Akane poked Aiko curiously to see what she was doing. Akane had forgotten everything, so she wouldn't know what Aiko was doing.

Kitsuko asked, "What is your name anyway? I'm Kitsuko, a half-demon. About the ship...well, I dunno lets ask around to see if anyone knows anything about it."

"My name is Akane.. Its nice to meet you Kitsuko.." Akane replied simply, as she continued to poke Aiko.

Kitsuko looked at Akane curiously and said, "...Is there something wrong? You seem kinda...distant."

Kieon walked toward Aiko and looked at her analytically. She told him, "You must be quite strong if you taught her magic. Where exactly did you come from?"

Aiko opened one eye lazily. "I am from hollow bastion.. But since the 'Kingdom Hearts' incident occurred, I ended up here. I had to teach Akane magic because of her situation and the consequences that have occurred and may occur because of it…"

Kieon's eyes narrowed slightly. "Hm. Her 'situation'? 'Consequences'? You seem to be hiding much more than I originally thought. And if you are from Hollow Bastion, you may very well have encountered the one who made Kitsuko who she is. Care to explain?"

"I don't know anything about Kitsuko, sorry. Akane's said 'situation' is that she is mutated with a heartless, and that is a very unwonted occurrence…Which means there was magic in her. Good magic at that. And I don't believe

the two can exist in one human, the good and evil can't mix, which could add to even more memory loss. She could completely lose herself in the heartless mutation, or the magic could go bad and she could be lost in that. Or at least that is what I've predicted, according to the circumstances."

Kitsuko hasn't noticed that Aiko and Kieon were talking, because they were whispering.

Kieon spoke again to Aiko. "That may lead to a disaster; It doesn't sound like she's doing well. Kitsuko seems 'stable' at the time - that is, I don't think that she will 'mutate' any time soon. What have you planned to do about Akane? "

Aiko replied, "I haven't planned anything. I haven't found out how to get rid of either of them. But I am trying to find it out. It's close to impossible to find out what exactly IS there, and how to get rid of it will be even harder."

Kieon sighed. "It may be difficult to do something, even if we figure out exactly what we need to do. Perhaps we should seek the advice of Squall. He always seems to know what to do. You do know who he is, right? Akane may have lost her memories but I assume you are fine?"

Aiko, "I found Akane after this happened, so I wasn't affected by it. I don't know anyone by the name of Squall, I've only been here a little before I found Akane, so I didn't get to meet anyone."

Kieon sneaked a pathetic look at Kitsuko. "Unfortunately, Kitsuko hates him so I will have to sneak off to talk to him later...If I have the time. Right now, I think we all need to pay a visit to Hollow Bastion. I have a feeling that there is something there."

In the meantime, Kitsuko had been questioning the shopkeeper, and now came to speak to Akane. "Yes, there is a guy named Cid, who specializes in Gummi Ships. He hasn't been seen in a while, though...I don't think we can find him. We'll need another way."

"That sounds like a good plan," Aiko replied.

"Okay, but where do you think we will find him?" Akane asked, looking away from Aiko.

Kitsuko gazed out the window. "I don't know...I'm afraid he's in another world. There seems to be no one that can help us here..." Her face slightly darkened as she thought more and more about how few options they were beginning to have left...And she looked down at her necklace, and muttered. "There is always one other way."

"There is?" Akane asked. She didn't know of any ways to get from one world to another. She wondered what possible actions they could take, and where Cid could have gone. "What other world could he have gone to?" Akane asked.

Kieon looked up at Kitsuko, and Kitsuko looked down at Kieon. Kitsuko explained, "There is a world called Hollow Bastion that I haven't been to in a while. Something tells me, that's where we need to go. And that might also be where other people are..." Kieon stared motionless at Kitsuko, unsure of whether it would be safe for her to use her necklace. Although it was unsafe, it appeared to be their only choice.

"Oh," Akane said, pausing for a moment. "But I thought you wanted to go to Twilight Town.. "Akane continued thinking about how exactly they could get to Hollow Bastion…and why they needed to. "What made you decide Hollow Bastion was somewhere we needed to be instead of Twilight Town?" Akane asked unsurely.

Kitsuko fidgeted a bit, then said, "To tell you the truth, I'm not sure. But first of all, Hollow Bastion is closer, so it'd be easier to get to without a gummi ship. Also, if Cid is there, we could get ourselves a ship and be able to travel to Twilight Town afterwards more easily, or to any other world we may need to go to." In the back of her mind, however, she thought it would be easier to get to Twilight Town without a gummi ship. But since this thought had no logic, she didn't say anything.

"Okay, that sounds like a good idea then..But what is there that we could use instead of a gummi ship?" Akane asked. Even Aiko wasn't sure about it, she hopped up in shock at the last statement.

Kitsuko strained a smile to seem more reassuring, however, she was nervous at her own thoughts. She knew that they needed to get to another world, but at what cost? The only way she could think of was to use her necklace...which held the spirit of the twilight chimera, the beast bonded to Kitsuko as her guardian. The beast which fed only on fresh human blood.

"Well, I think I know a way, but...It's not safe." Kitsuko said sternly.

"What are the consequences of its use?" Aiko asked, before Akane could utter a word. Akane couldn't even imagine what could be used instead of a gummi ship to travel from world to world.

Kitsuko tried to explain, as her necklace ominously reflected the light of the fireplace. "This necklace holds the spirit of my guardian, the Twilight Chimera. It can help me in just about any way, but not without its costs. It needs to devour human blood every time its powers are used. So, we could safely ride it to any world, but everyone in this town would need to be sacrificed."

"But there is no way we could do something like that!" Aiko argued.

"Yeah.." Akane said, surprisingly agreeing with Aiko. She couldn't imagine doing somthing..so..malicious as to kill someone for travel.

But wait.. There was a voice that said it was good, and all the people weren't innocent.. something that she didn't agree with at all. The voice came from her now appearing wings, her eyes widened as she thought, _'No! Go away!'_ but the voice still persisted. Akane screamed, as everything went blank. The heartless had started to break that ever-delicate balance.

Kitsuko was at first alarmed by Akane's change in behavior. However, she then sensed the darkness...darkness which reminded her of her demon side...of the darkness in her heart. She grasped the necklace in her hand and it began to glow. Then she muttered, in a darker voice, "Those pitiful humans have no reason to live. It wouldn't matter if they all died...They deserve it."

Kieon's fur stood up as a shiver ran down her spine. She took a few steps back. With Akane passed out on the floor and Kitsuko acting strange, Aiko did what any rabbit in her place could. PANIC! She franticly tried to wake Akane, and when that didn't work, she spoke to Kieon, "What happened to Kitsuko?" she asked, as it was all she could think of to ask.

Kieon didn't know what to say, for once. "I'm sorry, she gets like this sometimes...I'm afraid there is little in our power that we can do. Please, just make sure Akane is safe.."

Kitsuko's mind went blank for a moment, and suddenly, the first thing that came to her mind was the scent of a human nearby. She rapidly turns around and faces the shopkeeper, which was by now ducking behind the counter and whimpering.

Aiko didn't know what to do, she got close to Akane to attempt to keep her safe, but wasn't sure what she could to help her. She didn't want Akane's family to be destroyed, for when she starts remembering, because she was fairly sure. If that happened, Akane would have much less of a chance of even wanting her memory back, because everything and everyone who could prove it would be gone.

Kieon sensed Aiko's worrying. Desperately, she called out to Kitsuko. "Kitsuko, please go easy! Akane is not safe! Don't kill, please! There must be another way!" Kitsuko turns away from the shopkeeper. She did not want to defy her partner or hurt her new friends, but the necklace was still glowing, as if the spirit was urging to come out...

Aiko looked away from Akane, and to Kitsuko. "Kieon is right! If you do this, more horrible things could happen than you believe at this moment! You may not even know about how many loose ends there could be between you and these innocent people!" Aiko said, turning, again, to Akane. She worried that something far worse could happen.

Kitsuko grasped her own head, trying to control herself. She thought to herself, _"I've gotta control myself...or these people will get hurt...but is that a bad thing? Of course it is...but not really..."_ Her mind was filled with confused thoughts as she trembled, trying to hold back her power.

Kieon looked out the window. "We've got to get someone to help us - fast! She can't hold back for long!"

"Okay! But who should I go find!" Aiko asked frantically, as she made her way to the door.

Kieon leaped to Akane's side, to try to protect her just in case something would happen. "I don't know, find anyone! Maybe there IS someone around here!"

Kitsuko dropped to her knees, still trembling. Her unstable energy emitted a small shockwave that broke all the glass in the shop.

"Okay, I'll hurry!" Aiko said, as she frantically ran out of the door. "Is there anyone who can help! This is very serious!" She yelled as she ran around, searching for anyone who could help "This involves the heartless it it--" She yelled again, only to be cut off by a guy, who carried a sword..

"What is it?.." he asked.

"Its Kitsuko!" Aiko said. "Something's wrong, and if her necklace isn't stopped everyone in this town will die!" Aiko tried to say a bit more discreetly so no one would panic. "She is in the Accessory shop!" Aiko said, and the guy went to the accessory shop. Aiko followed him unsurely. She didn't know who he was.

Kitsuko was standing near the counter, holding up the shopkeeper by the neck. He was being choked nearly to death...And on Kitsuko's face was a smirk. Her eyes were cold, and her necklace was glowing with a dark purple aura.

Kieon was still next to Akane, nearly whimpering in fear. She hated to see Kitsuko like this, but there was nothing she could do..

Aiko and the guy rushed into the room, and almost automatically tried to get Kitsuko away from the shopkeeper. "What can we do to stop Kitsuko?" Aiko asked as she tried to help the guy get Kitsuko away from the shopkeeper.

Kitsuko noticed the guy. She tossed the half-dead shopkeeper at his feet. Still in a demonic voice, she muttered, "Everyone will perish...Their blood will be devoured...Their hearts will be lost..."

Kieon looked at the guy with hope, but she was still not sure if he would be good enough to stop Kitsuko. Slowly, the spirit of the necklace was taking hold of Kitsuko's heart.

"It's not worth it Kitsuko!" Aiko said as she tried to help with the situation. Squall attacked Kitsuko, to see if it would work.

"Hey! Don't attack her, that won't help!" Aiko yelled, hoping she would be proven wrong and it would work..Such false optimism!

Kitsuko jumped back, caught off guard by someone who was trying to actually fight back. The necklace still had control of her. As soon as the first drop of human blood would be spilled, the beast would probably emerge...If Kitsuko wouldn't be stopped first.

Kieon was watching carefully. She knew that Squall was strong enough to stop her, but because Kitsuko despises him, she would not give in easily. Kieon tried to think of a way to make her understand...

Aiko jumped back, away from the two, for fear of getting caught in the crossfire. She didn't know either of them very well, so she didn't know what exactly to expect.

Squall attacked Kitsuko's necklace, in an attempt to help Kitsuko to gain control by making it weaker. Apparently, this was working; his attacks on the necklace were making it weak enough for it to lose its hold on Kitsuko.

Kitsuko flinched and the necklace's control slightly weakened. With her back to the wall, Kitsuko began to feel nervous. She engulfed herself in fox-fire and tried to dash past squall toward the door to the outside. By being in a more open space, she had the advantage, and she could cast spells more freely...However, the necklace's power was very slowly diminishing.

Squall let her go past him and quickly followed her, quickly attacking the necklace, giving her little time to attack back between attacks.

Kitsuko got hit by the attacks and winced. She jumped on top of the roof and cast a blue Thundaga attack.

Kieon was still inside with Akane, where it was safer, and was watching them by looking out the broken window.

Squall attempted to dodge the thunder, but was still hit, in his right arm. He continued attacking, this time using his left arm. As he jumped onto the slanted roof, with less than good balance against Kitsuko, he still continued to attack Kitsuko's necklace.

Kitsuko began to sweat as she was nearly freed from the necklace's grasp. She used her wind power (similar to Aero, but not defensive) to try to make Squall fall off the roof. She was too scared to attack him directly, so she only used spells.

Kieon began to feel more relieved. "I think he can do it -- Kitsuko will be fine-ish."

"That's great!" Aiko said, a bit relieved as she began to watch the battle too.

Outside, Squall was having a bit of a hard time against the wind. He leaned forward but still slid a bit, until he finally had to jump and attack Kitsuko's necklace as hard as he could. He wasn't sure if he would have enough balance afterward to stay on the building, but he knew if he didn't, the necklace would gain control over Kitsuko, and the chimera would kill everyone in this world, including him…

Kitsuko yelled in pain as she was attacked, and the necklace stopped glowing! She jumped off of the building and dropped to her knees, back to her normal self. However, she became very tired from being under the control of the chimera...so she fell unconscious.

Kieon ran outside and examined her. "She will be alright. Her energy was only drained. And the chimera is dormant once again.." She turned to Squall. "Thank you.. We need you around more often..." Then she turned to Aiko. "You did a great job finding this guy for us. Thank you, friend. Make sure Akane is alright.."

Squall muttered, "You're welcome, I guess," and walked through the doors of the Second District without another word.

_end of chapter two – consequences of solving a mystery_


	3. Taking a Risk

**3 – Taking a Risk**

Kieon looked up at the sky for a moment and thought about the consequences of solving the mysteries that seem to be surrounding the two half-breed girls. Akane, the cat-girl, who seemed to be getting consumed by the dark _something_ within her; and Kitsuko, the fox-girl, who was barely able to escape the grip of her beastly guardian once again.

Kieon and Kitsuko were outside, and Kitsuko was leaning on the wall of the Accessory Shop, almost regaining consciousness. Kieon was relieved that she was better, but they still had the problem of going to another world. Kieon thought about Squall. She did rely on him save Kitsuko, but she was still rather reluctant to like someone who didn't get along with her best friend.

Kitsuko awoke, kind of in a panic, thinking that Squall was still around. When she noticed that he was indeed gone, she turned to Akane. "Akane? Are you awake?"

Akane had a horrible dream the whole time, involving the heartless and good magic of her…But when she finally heard Kieon's voice, she shot right up, with a few beads of sweat on her face. She wiped them off, and looked around.. "What happened?" she asked.

Kieon explained, "Don't worry, Kitsuko is back to normal...For now at least. Squall came and stopped her…"

Kitsuko looked a little depressed. "I'm sorry...for what I did. At least it didn't go too far..." The shopkeeper guy had run away a while ago. "It's just so hard for me...But I know you can understand. In a way, I guess we're similar. I have both light and darkness within me, and it looks like you do, too.."

"Okay, I'm glad you're back to normal.. and yeah, I can sort of understand in a way.." Akane said, still recovering a bit.. Hearing everyone's voice, Aiko came running out of the shop!

"Hi Aiko!" Akane said when she saw Aiko, and she petted her when she came near enough.

"Are you alright, Akane?" Aiko asked, as she received a petting.

"Yeah.. For now at least.." Akane replied.

Kieon hopped onto Kitsuko's head. Kitsuko, eager to get to other worlds, asked Akane, "Are you well enough to go search around right now? We have to be careful, because we might run into some heartless..."

"Yeah, I'll be okay," Akane said as she stood up, with Aiko now on her head. "We'll just have to fly there, so the heartless can't catch up to us."

Kieon suddenly recalled something. "I heard that Cid went to Merlin's place the other day…Maybe we should search there?"

Kitsuko felt doubtful. "I wonder if that guy can really help us...What do you think, Akane?"

Akane replied, "Since I never saw that guy, in the first place.. I wouldn't know.."

Kitsuko sighed as she looked over at the large doors in the First District, the ones that led out of the world. Kieon asked her, "What are you thinking...?"

Kitsuko quietly replied, "The Twilight Chimera is my guardian. It is required to help me. Our life-forces are bound together...Maybe there is a way." She took a step forward, toward the doors, her mind filled with thought...

Akane quickly followed Kitsuko, "What's wrong?" she asked.

Akane wanted to leave the first district, and leave her thoughts about the 'good' and 'evil' of her there..

Kitsuko closed her eyes and tried to focus her energy. She was trying to talk to her guardian..."Please...Help us. I will repay you some other way, I promise..." The vaguely dragon-shaped pendant on the chain necklace began to glow again, but this time in a light purple color. Kitsuko began walking to the doors.

Akane followed Kitsuko. She didn't know what Kitsuko was doing, but she didn't want to get left behind. Akane didn't notice Aiko's shaking as she continued following Kitsuko.

Kitsuko stood in front of the large doors. With her eyes closed, she whispered something and in a flash of light, the spirit of the necklace was released.

It was dragon-like, and had phoenix feathers covering part of its legs. It had an extremely long tail, and its head was covered by an armor-shell-like 'helmet', except for its lower jaw. Its eyes glowed blue..and the most distinctive part of the chimera was its wings - the left wing was a black demon wing, and the right was a white angel wing...

Kitsuko was still focusing, to keep it under control, and said "Akane, let's get on its back. Don't worry, this time it is under control.."

"Okay," Akane said, not knowing what had happened to Kitsuko the last time, because she had passed out.

Aiko started shaking even harder and very nervously, almost whispering, she managed to stutter, "A--Are you s--sure?" She wasn't sure where her fear of snakes came from, maybe instinct or something she didn't remember..She didn't know.

Kitsuko knew this was dangerous, but she trusted her guardian. Kieon was still on her head, not very worried, although she noticed how scared Aiko was. She yelled to him, "It's alright. It only eats humans." Then she thought, "Whops...Maybe that wasn't so reassuring.." Kitsuko had already sat on the chimera, and the large doors were opening...

Akane wasn't so sure, but decided that she could trust Kitsuko, so she got on the chimera. "Okay, lets go then.." Akane said as she kept Aiko from jumping off of her head.

"Here we go..!" said Kitsuko, as the chimera leapt into space with a powerful flap of its wings. A white-colored aura covered them, protecting them from the heartless ships and other obstacles. The aura, of course, even let them breathe easily even though they were in space. Kitsuko constantly muttered to the chimera, trying to guide it to take them to Hollow Bastion.

Akane held on to the chimera while they departed into space, and Aiko did the same. Akane looked at the scenery, in awe. She had never been out of Traverse Town, at least from what she remembered..

Kieon was almost enjoying the trilling ride, but Kitsuko was very concentrated with guiding the chimera. They were going very fast, as the power of the chimera was incredible. It swiftly maneuvered through the heartless and obstacles, not even bothering to fight the heartless at all. Any heartless that came in the way of its lengthy tail, however, were instantly destroyed. They would reach Hollow Bastion in no time. Slowly, the space around them got darker as they came closer to their destination.

Akane held on tighter, as they went faster. She was still in awe of her surroundings.. She didn't know when they would reach Hollow Bastion, but she hoped it would be soon.

Finally, they arrived at Hollow Bastion. They landed on the floating stones in the Rising Falls area. The chimera was in a mild mood, maybe because of its defeat in Traverse Town. It went back into spirit form and returned to the necklace. However, the trip and the strain of controlling the chimera made Kitsuko dizzy...She staggered, and fell to the ground.

"Hey! Are you alright?" Akane asked as she sat down beside Kitsuko. Aiko sat beside Akane, still a little freaked out by the ride there.

Kieon hopped off of Kitsuko's head and said, "I'm afraid she'll need to rest for a while again..."

Kitsuko, breathing heavily, tried to get up. "Don't worry, I'm fine. Just a little tired. But we can get going."

She looked up at the sky, and then at the Castle in the distance. It felt like she had seen this place before, but she's not sure how. Her memories are foggy...

"Okay," Akane said as she stood up, and Aiko jumped onto her head. She looked to the castle, and somehow..she recognized it from somewhere. She didn't remember being there but she remembered seeing it from afar, like this... She decided it was only deja vu, and ignored the thought..

_end of chapter three – taking a risk_


	4. The Castle of Heartless

**4 – The Castle of Heartless**

Kitsuko stood up, looking at the castle. She knew she had been there before, but...she couldn't quite remember what she had done there. At least they had succeeded in taking a risk; They were able to get the Chimera to help them without it devouring anyone. But if they had to do it again, they surely would not be so lucky..So Kitsuko hoped they would be able to find their answers here in Hollow Bastion.

"Let's go", said Kitsuko, as she jumped to the next floating rock in the Rising Falls. Kieon was clinging to her shoulder.

Akane followed Kitsuko, Aiko clinging to her shoulder. "Okay." she replied simply. She watched the rising falls, and it gave her a headache. By looking at the falls, it seemed as if she was going up, or down, it was hard to tell, but she was standing still.. Akane looked away, and focused at the rocks instead of the falls, as she jumped up to the next rock with haste; afraid of being left behind by Kitsuko.

Kitsuko reached the highest rock and waited for Akane. Finally, Akane reached the last rock, pulled herself up, and dusted herself off. She paused and stared at the castle in the distance. "So how do we get to that castle?" Akane asked.

"Uh, we take this elevator thing." She pointed to the round platform in front of them. It was hanging by a pole-like thing which connected to a faint electric line, which led to the castle.

The four of them got onto the platform, and it began on its way to the castle. Kitsuko started gazing at the castle. It was the only thing around, it seemed, except for the faint mountains in the distance. She began to feel a little lightheaded...But she shook her head and looked at Akane so she wouldn't focus so much on the mysterious scenery.

Finally they arrived at the castle. It looked quiet and lonely, yet ominous. There seemed to be no heartless around..

Kitsuko asked, "You haven't been here before, right?" She looked up and saw the rest of the massive castle towering above them, along with the smoking pipes.

"I dont remember being here, but I could have been here before.." Akane replied. She wondered why there weren't any heartless around. She examined her surroundings a bit more, as something seemed familiar.

Kitsuko felt a little strange...the fur of her tail was ruffled a bit, and she was kinda nervous. She felt a great danger somewhere around, but they had to keep going. She walked slowly toward the large doors to the inside of the castle, her were ears perked up and listening for the slightest stange sound. She kept turning around to make sure Akane was still there.

Akane followed Kisuko, but she didn't quite understand why Kitsuko was being so cautious. She attempted to be cautious as well. Aiko hopped behind the two, as she was geting sick of being on Akane's shoulder. Kieon hopped off of Kitsuko's shoulder as well, and began walking beside Aiko. She didn't like clinging to Kitsuko whenever she was acting so cautious.

Kitsuko put a hand on the door, pausing a bit before she slowly opened the heavy doors. Kitsuko took a few steps into the castle, when a swarm of Heartless suddenly appeared! It was quite an army - there were Defenders, Wizards, Large Bodies, and Darkballs! Kitsuko gasped and looked behind her, but some heartless closed and locked the doors behind her! She faced the heartless, ready to fight.

Akane ran to the door as it shut, but when she tried to open it, it was locked. She listened and heard the heartless. Akane tried a few spells, but they only weakened the lock by a bit. She continued to use the spells. Surprisingly, Kieon had managed to dash inside just in time, so she stood beside Kitsuko, ready to fight as well.

Kitsuko yelled out to Akane, "It's no use, it won't open unless the heartless are defeated!", as she ran toward a Wizard heartless and slashed at it with a slashing attack (similar to Inuyasha's Iron Reaver). She continued to slash away at the Wizards while dodging the Defenders' fireballs and the Darkballs' attacks.

Akane listened to the sounds in the room. She worried, but couldn't help. Akane stood there, waiting for the battle sounds to finally end. She felt misplaced, and didn't know what to do..

Kitsuko defeated a few heartless but was getting pretty injured, as more seemed to appear. Finally she called out, "Kieon! Light form!".

Kieon's tail twitched as a faint gray star appeared on her forehead...and she shifted into her Espeon form! Espeon was also a fox-like Pokemon. It had very light purple fur, and a cat-like tail which split into two tails near the end. It had large ears, wide eyes, and a small, round, crimson stone embedded into its forehead.

As Espeon, Kieon used a Psybeam attack on the Large Bodies and destroyed them, while Kitsuko finished off the Defenders and Darkballs. The heartless in the area were defeated for now, and so the large doors opened.

Akane walked through the doors. They walked forward a bit and a few Shadow heartless appeared. Akane used some spells to defeat them, while Aiko used defensive spells, and healed everyone as she stood near the door.

Kitsuko began walking up the stairs on the left , with Kieon following behind at a distance. Kitsuko looked back to be sure Akane was following, and opened the door to the library. Akane followed Kitsuko up the stairs, and Aiko hopped behind.

"So where does that door lead to?" Akane asked as she stared at the door.

Kitsuko didn't really know where she was going, and expected to find more heartless behind this door. But instead, this was the library, and there were no heartless. The gray star appeared on Kieon's forehead again, and she shifted back into her Eevee form. Being an avid lover of books, Kieon said to Kitsuko, "Perhaps we can find some useful information here." Kieon noticed a glowing book nearby, but Kitsuko didn't notice. Kitsuko sniffed around and her ears twitched. She sensed that someone slightly familiar had been there before.

"..." Akane felt a bit ignored, she walked in after Kitsuko and Kieon. She wondered why they were acting strangely like this..

Kieon turned around and asked Akane and Aiko, "Will you help me look for some books?"

Kitsuko began to slightly growl. She looked down to Kieon, "Do whatever you want, but I'm going on."

Kieon looked a little worried, but she let Kitsuko walk away and go through another door. "Akane, I don't think we should follow her...Let's leave her alone for a while, because it's not too safe to be around her when she gets like this. You remember the incident in Traverse Town…"

"Okay," Akane said, remembering what happened in Traverse Town. She walked through the door into the library. "What kinds of books are we looking for?" she asked.

"I'm not sure what we're looking for, but some of these books seem to be slightly glowing, so try looking at those.. Hm, a lot of the books here have something to do with darkness.." She pulled down one of the glowing books and began quickly reading it. "It says something about 'Ansem, the seeker of darkness'..."

Meanwhile Kitsuko was walking down a hallway somewhere else in the castle. Her eyes were mysteriously blue (they were normally purple), and there seemed to be darkness swarming around her…

_end of chapter four – the castle of heartless_


	5. Two Tails

A/N: Okayy…time for some notes:

The first three chapters didn't have much to do with Parasite Heartless, did they? But that was because they were introducing the characters, building suspense, blah blah…

The fourth, fifth, and sixth chapters are where Parasite Heartless actually begin to be introduced, so I guess that's when the story actually starts getting interesting.

It looks like there's going to be ten chapters total…Sora, Riku, Kairi, Namine, etc might make appearances later (chapter seven and up maybe?), and we'll try to give them large roles even though they aren't the main characters here..The reason they don't make many appearances yet is that this story supposed to take place in the time of Chain of Memories. I don't think Akane and Kitsuko are going to Castle Oblivion in this story. Maybe in another story…But in this one, they will also be going to…Nah, I won't give you a spoiler. But you can probably guess.

I need some reviews. I use constructive reviews to make the later chapters better. If you don't like something about the story, tell me and I could make it better! Duh…And if you do like the story, great! Now on with the story!

**5 – Two Tails**

Kieon wondered if Kitsuko was alright. After all, she was wandering around in Hollow Bastion, a place that could practically be called 'the castle of heartless'. She continued to look through the book for anything useful to their search for the answers to Akane's and Kitsuko's pasts.

"'Ansem, the seeker of darkness'...?"Akane repeated aloud what Kieon had read earlier. She thought she'd heard this name before.."So... what does it say about Ansem? The name sounds familiar.. Is he famous or something?"

Kieon flipped through the book quickly, skimming the pages. "Darkness born out of people's hearts, that forms the Heartless...The core of people's hearts is the Heartless, the Darkness...Another experiment...A girl who possesses both light and darkness...something about a boy...I don't understand most of it, but it looks like during some of the more recently written pages, he talks of a girl he saw with two wings - one white and the other black. What could all this mean?"

"I'm not sure.." Akane replied, "The girl he saw sounds something like Kitsuko.."

Aiko said, "Maybe he was talking about her, and that's what she doesn't remember," Aiko guessed.

Kieon nodded at her comment, although she looked surprised. When Kitsuko's wings appeared, they were dragon-like and glowed blue. All that she knew who had a white and a black wing was her guardian, the chimera…"Could it really be Kitsuko? If so, then she might really be in danger...But what could we do if she becomes demon-like again?"

"At this point there's about no way of knowing if it really is Kitsuko, even if it is, and she is in danger.. I'm not sure what we would do, but it seems a bit likely, because of past incidents.. What exactly should we do? Theres about no way we can keep her from being demon like… Is there?" Aiko replied.

Kieon though about it for a moment. "Her guardian has a white and a black wing. Could they be one in the same somehow? As for her demon form...Well, I'm honestly not sure how to stop her. When she was fighting in Traverse Town, she became both angered and intimidated by her opponent, which caused her to both become more and less demon-like. That doesn't help us at all, then. Do you think you have a way to deprive her of demonic energy?" she asked Aiko.

"How could they be one in the same? I don't know of a way to deprive her of demonic energy.." Aiko replied shortly this time.

"Now that I think of it.. what exactly does it say about 'A girl who possesses both light and darkness'?" Akane asked.

Kieon looked through the book again, and looked for the right page...A page was torn... " 'I have observed a girl today who seems to be a chimera. A product of the Heartless perhaps? She acts as neither a hero or a villan. She also seems confused, it appears as though she can be easily manipulated...' What do you think it means...?"

"I'm not sure..." Akane said. "That sounds a bit like Akane.." Aiko said. "I'm fairly sure that something happened with a heartless.." Aiko added.

"I still don't remember what happened though.. Anything could have happened.." Akane added.

Kieon looked depressed. "It looks like we're all confused and don't know what to do next...There was a time when I was not with Kitsuko, and when I returned to her, I learned that she had suffered from an immense fight in which she 'changed her form'. I heard about it from someone, but they didn't have any details. While I was not with Kitsuko, I was researching Heartless, and discovered that they could indeed affect people in certain ways, such as giving them powers. But I didn't have time to complete my research. Maybe...Akane gained some powers from Heartless?"

"That could be possible, it would explain her wings..and ears, but what scares me is what other powers could she have gained?" Aiko replied. Akane remained silent...

Kieon tried to recall what she had learned..."Yes, people inflicted by the Heartless might change their form, such as Akane gaining her wings and ears. What I can't figure out is why the Heartless would want to change someone instead of just taking their heart as they usually do? Maybe there is a darker result to all of this...Well, if Akane really does have Heartless powers, she should have the symbol of the Heartless somewhere on her."

"That is true, and we haven't found one yet, but, as you said: why are they not killing; and giving powers? That worries me .. maybe another heartless army will be a result of all of this?" Aiko replied, she looked a bit worried.

"That's exactly what I have been thinking. Heartless are born out of darkness in people's hearts; they may be trying to create a new kind of heartless, which are born the other way around: people gaining darkness in their hearts because of the Heartless, therefore becoming a part of darkness themselves. However, if that is the case, then Akane..."

Suddenly a loud noise was heard in the distance, in some other part of the castle. Kieon's fur stood on end. "Kitsuko...!"

"Where did the noise come from?" Aiko asked.

"Even if we knew that, how could we get there before she left there, and how could we help her?" Akane asked, putting her own troubles aside.

Kieon sniffed around, picked up Kitsuko's trail, and frantically began to follow it, although she was worried that she could get lost in the labyrinth-like castle, or worse - be attacked by Heartless. Hoping that Akane and Aiko were following, she led the way through various paths of the castle...However, no Heartless seemed to be around.

Akane and Aiko followed closely behind Kieon, both worried. Akane wondered why there were no heartless, they seemed to be appearing all the time lately, but now there were none..

Kieon looked back at Akane, guessing that...Maybe it was she who was repelling the heartless. Looking forward again, she thought maybe it was something ahead instead that was creating an ominous aura inside the castle. Finally they reached doors, and entered an area. ((It's the place where Sora fought Maleficent in KH1.))

Kitsuko was unconscious on the floor, and on her back was a small white angel wing, and a small black demon wing…Just like the Twilight Chimera's. Further into the hall stood a dark figure, hooded, cloaked, and silent. As Kieon, Akane, and Aiko approached, he disappeared into darkness. Kitsuko's small wings disappeared as well.

Akane and Aiko ran into the room. "What happened!" they asked in unison, but realized Kitsuko was unconscious and stopped.

"Akane, give me the first aid kit!" Aiko said, before she went to Kitsuko.

Akane went through her backpack and got out a white case with a red + on it and handed it to her rabbit friend.

"Thanks" Aiko said as she pushed the case over to Kitsuko, and looked for any wounds, and found no cuts, but a bruise on her head. Aiko put an ice pack on Kitsuko's head and sat on the case.

"Strange, it seems like Kitsuko was hit in the head by that person, but what in the world happened with those wings is what bothers me.. We'll have to be wary of this person.."

Kitsuko was limp and her face was pale. She was hardly breathing. Her physical injury was severe, but Kieon sensed that there was something else wrong. Had the stranger told her something, or done something more to her? Kieon sniffed her body all over as her ears twitched, searching for a sign of answers, but found none.

Suddenly, she looked at Kitsuko's tail...She had two tails! They were faint though, and almost looked like illusions. Kieon poked at them with her paw, but indeed the two black, shiny, white-tipped tails were real.

Akane looked at the tails. "Looks like you missed something Aiko," Akane said as the pointed at the tails. "That's really strange, how did she get an extra tail?" Akane wondered aloud.

Aiko looked at the tails. "Could this possibly be the work of whom ever that was? Or has this happened in the past?" Aiko asked.

Kieon replied, "…It's actually not unusual for foxes to get an extra tail…but it's rare. However…In this case, it may be more of a bad sign than a good one, I'm afraid. I'm not sure exactly what it means, though, but her wings probably have something to do with her guardian. In any case, we'll have to see what happens when she wakes up."

_end of chapter five – two tails_


	6. Another Stranger

A/N:

Akane: Hi I hope everyone enjoys our story!

Kitsuko: Yep! And we finally got some reviews! Thanx ;

Okay…Chapter Six. Here we have a little bit of kitsune legend, as in the two tails thing. Yep, Kitsuko has two tails now…

By the way, Kitsuko's name comes from the words "kitsune" (fox) and "kuko" (fox of air, including wind, mist, and fog).

Akane's name means something like center of the island; a deeper meaning…

Alright, we'll have more notes later. Story Time!

**6 – Another Stranger**

Akane, Aiko, and Kieon continued to wait for Kitsuko to awaken as they wondered about her two tails. Kitsuko's breathing seemed to be returning to normal.

Aiko handed her first aid kit to Akane who put it back into her pack.

"So it's natural for her to have two tails?" Aiko asked. "Are there any certain circumstances for them to appear?"

Kieon sat next to Kitsuko. "I don't think there are any specific circumstances. But according to lore, to get another tail, a fox must earn it, so something important probably happened…The number of tails a fox has is related to its power - the more tails she has, the more powerful she is. Maybe the fight with the stranger caused Kitsuko to achieve a greater level of power, even though she lost…?"

"Oh, I see, so she earned the tail.. I wonder what she could have been doing to gain a new level of power.." Akane wondered aloud.

"She must have learned something new, trying to win," Aiko guessed.

"Exactly," Kieon said, as Kitsuko's eyes began to quiver and open. Kitsuko sat up quickly and looked around. Her ears shifted around to try to pick up the sound of the stranger. But he had gone. Kitsuko had a bummed look on her face. "Damnit...He got away again..."

Kieon hopped on her shoulder and asked, "What happened?" and pointed to her two tails with her paw. Kitsuko looked down with a surprised look on her face.

"Who was it that you were fighting, did you know them?" Akane asked.

"Is your head okay?" Aiko asked, picking up the ice pack that seemed to have fallen when Kitsuko sat up.

"Um...I think I'm fine. That guy was the one who I had seen before...I sensed his dark energy and ran here, and it was like he was expecting me. I don't know what he wants with me - it's like he's testing my power. And in this last fight...I felt so desperate, I was sure that I was a goner. Then, I don't know what happened, but this incredible power was unleashed - by me. That's when I passed out..."

Aiko put the ice pack back into the first aid kit. "Oh, sorry, I thought you were just hit in the head.. So, by the sound of that, it would be reckless to go after him again, not for a while, at least. So what should we do now?" Aiko asked.

"I was hit in the head, but that didn't knock me out…" Kitsuko felt over the bump near her forehead. but I'm fine...demon foxes are good at recovering. I want to go after him again, but I'm not sure what good that would do." She looked around and sighed. "I don't know what to do. Akane, didn't you want to find out more about yourself, and about the things you can't remember?"

"Yes, I do," Akane replied silently, "But what is there, do you think, that we can do to find that out?"

"Maybe that book could help?" Aiko wondered aloud.

"Book? Oh, you mean the books in the library. Most of them are just junk, I've looked through them before..." Kitsuko replied distantly.

Kieon spoke up, "We found one book that seems to be useful. Akane, did you bring it with you?"

"No, actually.. We were in such a hurry that I left it.." Akane replied.

"I could go get it!" Aiko said.

"Well, you never know what could be down there, so I'll go too.." Akane said.

"I'll come with you," said Kitsuko, with Kieon still on her shoulder. "We don't need to stay here anyway."

While walking back to the library, Kitsuko asked, " What did you find in that book?"

Kieon explained, "It was written by Ansem, and he seems to be explaining the observations that he is making to experiment with new kinds of Heartless..."

As they entered the library, Akane noticed someone walking out of the door.. She decided it didn't matter.. They just needed that book, and it wasn't strange for someone else to be here, was it?

Akane went to where the book was, but it wasn't on the shelf, but on the floor, open to a random page.

"That's strange.. I remember putting this back on the shelf.. Do you think it was that person, that just left the room?" Akane asked.

"Huh?" Kitsuko didn't expect to see anyone else here, thinking that this place was abandoned other than the Heartless and the mysterious figure she had fought.

Kieon looked down at the book, "It seems that he was interested in this book as well..." Kitsuko picked up the book slowly and looked at the page which it had been left on, with Kieon looking at it as well.

"So, what exactly is on that page?" Akane asked.

Aiko got on Kitsuko's other shoulder to read it. "This page is about new heartless, isn't it?" Aiko asked, reading a bit of the page. "I wonder what that person would want to know about supposed new heartless…" Aiko wondered aloud.

"Hm..." Kitsuko read carefully with a stern look on her face. She looked back at the door, tempted to run out after the stranger.

Then Kieon began to read a few parts aloud, "...These new Heartless will be better suited for more complicated operations. The other Heartless are completely empty, but these refined Heartless have superior potential, as they are created from people. The Heartless lives inside the person, so in heart, the person is truly a Heartless, but on the outside, they are more powerful and have more capabilities. After being infected with my new breed of Parasite Heartless, the victim will slowly become more and more like a Heartless, until they are perfect..."

Akane and Aiko looked a bit shocked. Aiko read on, "Once they are perfect, they will become a part of a new, and improved army for a complete invasion! There are still more worlds yet that my heartless have not gotten too, and this time around, all of the people from the worlds will become more of my perfect heartless, until everything is taken by the Parasites."

Aiko stopped reading. "This could be a fictional work of a lunatic, right, I mean…How could something this recent be in here? Most of the books in here are very old…Do you think someone wants us to read this for some reason?"

Kitsuko looked at Aiko and said, "Maybe he is a lunatic, but he is also a genius, to be able to create Heartless. I thought he was destroyed...But who was that person and why was he trying to read about this?"

Kieon looked worried. "Maybe he is also infected with the Heartless, or something of the sort. We should go find him!"

"Okay, sounds like a good idea, but this time.." Aiko gave the book to Akane, who put it in her backpack. "We should keep this just in case." Aiko finished, as she and Akane went the way they saw the person leave, only to find them long gone..

_end of chapter six – another stranger_


End file.
